idiot?

[Jmetz]

Just saw a lad on a lovely white cannondale single speed. Only problem was it only had half of the front fork!

Surely this is a one way ticket to a&e?

 

[asterix]

Unless it was some kind stub axle. Something I've never heard of on the front of a bicycle!

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

It is most likely the Lefty, they have been doing them for ages.

ps as a matter of interest even 3rd party suppliers sell special wheels for them, such as the Crossmax Lefty.

 

[byegad]

Mike Burrows has designed several with only one side support. Perfectly safe.

If you don't believe me look at almost all motor vehicles, a lot of aircraft under carriages and two wheels on each of my recumbent trikes.

 

[Guvnor]

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cannondale/scalpel-carbon-3-2011-mountain-bike-ec025334

 

[Jmetz]

Madness! Looked so alien to me, but at aleast he won't be having his bike crumple beneath him!


Although at least puntures on the front may be a little easier to resolve!

 

[Arch]

Mike Burrows has designed several with only one side support. Perfectly safe.

If you don't believe me look at almost all motor vehicles, a lot of aircraft under carriages and two wheels on each of my recumbent trikes.

It's funny isn't it, how so many 'wierd' nthings are pretty passe to some of us. In 11 years since I got into cycling, I've gone from "Hey wow!" to "oh, look, another one of those...."

When I worked on the roadshows, people often looked at the Giant Halfway for ages before they twigged what was different about it.

 

[hotmetal]

Ha! I thought the OP was joking… I've got a Lefty on my Cannondale mountainbike, yes, it does make people do a double-take but I've kind of got blasé about it now. But that's cos I ride with MTBers and roadies. In all my road-riding (which is a lot of commuting but only a year or so of Campagnolo and Carbon Cruising), I have never come across a Lefty on the road, so I suppose it's not surprising that people are still surprised by these things.

The Lefty is actually supposed to be torsionally stiffer than most conventional sus forks and is majorly overengineered, I think Cannondale have stopped fitting them as standard to all but their most eye-wateringly expensive models. You can buy a reasonable bike for the RRP of a Lefty!

 

[henshaw11]

The Lefty is actually supposed to be torsionally stiffer than most conventional sus forks and is majorly overengineered,

IIRC, Ducati had to stop using their single-sided swingarms in racing because they were too stiff - but kept them on the road going versions.

Some of the older Challenge recumbents had single-sided front forks, but I *think* they may have been heavier than the normal version.

 

[Ravenbait]

The Windcheetah has a leftie on it, doesn't it?

Sam

 

[funnymummy]

It is most likely the Lefty, they have been doing them for ages.

ps as a matter of interest even 3rd party suppliers sell special wheels for them, such as the Crossmax Lefty.

Seen a few of them around, first time I did actulay think WTF..? So went home & Googled it

 

[the snail]

IIRC, Ducati had to stop using their single-sided swingarms in racing because they were too stiff - but kept them on the road going versions.

I think they were a racing thing, makes it quicker to change the wheel, but has to be heavier than a conventional fork to be stiff enough, so purely cosmetic on a road bike.

 

[hotmetal]

Well, in mountainbike terms, the Lefty was lighter and stronger (but a lot more expensive) than a comparable 140mm fork. They also suffered a lot less from 'stiction' than conventional forks.

It's probably just Cannondale being innovative/different for the sake of it, but it's great for changing tubes/tyres without having to remove the front wheel. That may be a benefit to a road rider too. I'm not sure one way or the other about the weight of the ones designed for road use, and sure there is an element of cosmetic 'bling' factor too.

As for motorbikes - yes, I think there may well be such a thing as 'too stiff' when you're talking about Rossi and the like. I believe the single sided swingarms are a bit heavier. I've always liked the look of them though - Daytona 955, VFR, and of course the legendary NR750... bike porn!

 

[Arch]

The Windcheetah has a leftie on it, doesn't it?

Sam

Aye, and the Ratcatcher, and the Giant Halfway and the 8Freight and anything else designed by Mike Burrows...

 

[Chris S]

Vespa scooters have used stub axles for over 60 yeras without any problems.